PropertyCasualtyFocus

  • All Topics
  • Contributors
  • About
  • Contact
  • Subscribe

Flooded: Court Finds “Named Windstorm” Coverage, and Not Flood Sublimit, Applies to Superstorm Sandy Water Damage Claim

February 28, 2020 by Daniel G. Enriquez

When the National Weather Service names a storm heading in your direction, you know to expect wind and water. This can create a quandary for property insurers. Is water damage from a named windstorm caused by the flood or the storm? This distinction can mean millions. In New Jersey Transit Corp. v. Certain Underwriters at Lloyd's London, a three-judge panel from the Superior Court of New Jersey held that the New Jersey Transit Corp. was entitled to $400 million in ... Keep Reading »

Florida Court Holds Carrier’s Basis for Botched $149K Ferrari Payment Defied “Common Sense”

February 17, 2020 by Carlton Fields

A familiar dispute between a carrier and a third party involves the third party’s attacking the language of the insurance contract and arguing in favor of an interpretation not reflected by the plain meaning of the text. But in a recent opinion by a Florida appellate court, World Finance Group LLC v. Progressive Select Insurance Co., it was the third-party lienholder that benefitted from the “plain meaning” of the text. This case stemmed from a March 2014 accident ... Keep Reading »

Massachusetts High Court Upholds Consent-to-Settle Provision, Protecting Insurer Who Did Not Have the “Final Say”

February 12, 2020 by Kelley Godfrey

The Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts recently heard an appeal regarding a particularly obstinate insured, ruling that recognition of a consent-to-settle provision does not in and of itself violate an insurer’s duties under Massachusetts’ claim settlement practices statute. Specifically, in Rawan v. Continental Casualty Co., the court held that Continental was not in violation of Massachusetts General Laws chapter 176D, section 3(9)(f), which mandates that an ... Keep Reading »

New York Appellate Court Affirms Denial of Discovery Into Other Hurricane Sandy Claims

January 23, 2020 by Rachel Schwartz

Denied red stamp on yellow background

In Knickerbocker Village Inc. v. Lexington Insurance Co., New York's Appellate Division, First Judicial Department, dictated a clear rule for single-insured cases regarding the discovery of an insurer's treatment of insurance claims brought by other similarly situated insureds: that information is not "material and necessary" and thus not discoverable under section 3101 of the New York Civil Practice Law and Rules. This case arose out of a disagreement between ... Keep Reading »

Ohio Appellate Court Rejects Policyholder’s Notice-Prejudice and Continuity of Coverage Arguments

January 10, 2020 by Andrew Daechsel

Claims-made liability insurance policies typically require the policyholder to notify the insurer of a claim within a set amount of time — typically during the policy period, or within a specific period of time after the end of the policy period — to obtain coverage. When policyholders fail to do so, they often argue that the “notice-prejudice rule” should apply, such that the insurer can only deny coverage if it was prejudiced by the policyholder’s untimely notice. ... Keep Reading »

Insured’s Leaky “Abrupt” Interpretation of All-Risk Insurance Collapses Under Eleventh Circuit Scrutiny

January 7, 2020 by D. Barret Broussard

In S.O. Beach Corp. v. Great American Insurance Company of New York, No. 18-1967 (11th Cir. Oct. 31, 2019), the Eleventh Circuit affirmed the district court’s grant of summary judgment in full to the insurer, finding there was no ambiguity in the all-risk policy’s definition of a “collapse” as “an abrupt falling down or caving in of a building or any part of a building with the result that the building or part of the building cannot be occupied for its intended purpose” ... Keep Reading »

Is Your “Securities Claim” Actually Covered Under Your D&O Policy? A Review of In Re Verizon Insurance Coverage Appeals

December 27, 2019 by Chael Clark

Verizon Building

The question of what constitutes a "securities claim" in the context of public company D&O policies is often debated in insurance coverage disputes, and the answer to this question can have significant effects on the scope of what insurance companies would be forced to cover under these policies. In In re Verizon Insurance Coverage Appeals, the Delaware Supreme Court reversed an earlier Superior Court ruling that, if upheld, would have considerably broadened that ... Keep Reading »

South Carolina Supreme Court’s Quiet Erosion of Insurers’ Attorney-Client Privilege Rights

December 20, 2019 by Roben West

One decision that flew under the radar in 2019 continues the recent trend of courts to dispense, under among other things the previously discussed “at-issue” waiver doctrine, with insurers’ fundamental rights to confidentiality with respect to legal advice. In the June 2019 decision In re Mt. Hawley Insurance Co., No. 2018-001170 (S.C. June 12, 2019), South Carolina directed, in response to a certified question from the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals, the circumstances ... Keep Reading »

Connecticut Supreme Court Fortifies Crumbling Foundation Claim Denials in Trio of Insurer Victories

December 6, 2019 by Brendan Gooley

A year ago, we wrote about a rapidly emerging area of insurance litigation in Connecticut: crumbling foundations. As a quick recap, tens of thousands of homes in northeastern Connecticut built over a span of more than 30 years may have been constructed with defective concrete that causes basement walls to prematurely deteriorate and eventually become structurally unsound. The Crumbling Foundation Crisis The problem, known as alkali-silica reaction (ASR), is the result ... Keep Reading »

Eleventh Circuit Rejects Insurer-Defended Policyholder’s Bid to Expand Florida’s Bad Faith “Excess Judgment Rule” to Include Collusive Settlements Concocted Without Insurer’s Consent

November 22, 2019 by Gregory Gidus

In Cawthorn v. Auto-Owners Insurance Co., No. 18-12067 (11th Cir. Oct. 25, 2019), the Eleventh Circuit affirmed the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida’s grant of summary judgment in favor of Auto-Owners Insurance Co., ruling that a consent judgment does not constitute an excess verdict, which is an essential element of a Florida bad faith claim. This appeal arose from an April 2014 underlying automobile accident in which David Cawthorn and Bradley ... Keep Reading »

  • « Previous Page
  • 1
  • …
  • 18
  • 19
  • 20
  • 21
  • 22
  • …
  • 48
  • Next Page »
Carlton Fields Logo
A blog focused on legal developments in the property-casualty industry by the attorneys of Carlton Fields.

Get Weekly Updates!

Send Me Updates!

Focused Topics

  • Additional Insured
  • Bad Faith
  • Business Interruption
  • Class Action
  • Construction/Builder’s Risk
  • Coronavirus / COVID-19
  • Cybersecurity
  • Declaratory Judgment
  • Duty to Defend
  • Environmental
  • Flood
  • Homeowners
  • Occurrence
  • Pollution/Pollutant
  • Property
  • Regulatory
  • VIEW ALL TOPICS »

Recent Articles

  • Seventh Circuit Affirms Judgment Dismissing Bad Faith Claim Without Viable Breach of Contract Claim
  • Seventh Circuit Affirms Broad Reading of CGL Policy’s “Radioactive Matter Exclusion” to Include EMF Radiation
  • Iowa Supreme Court Reaffirms Rule That Faulty Workmanship Is Not an Occurrence, Leaving Question of Statutory Fraud for Another Day

Carlton Fields

  • carltonfields.com
  • Practices
  • Industries
  • ExpectFocus Magazine

Related Industries/Practices

  • Insurance
  • Financial Lines Insurance
  • Property & Casualty Insurance
  • Financial Services & Insurance Litigation

About PropertyCasualtyFocus

  • All Topics
  • Contributors
  • About
  • Contact
© 2014–2025 Carlton Fields, P.A. · Carlton Fields practices law in California as Carlton Fields, LLP · All Rights Reserved · Privacy Policy · Disclaimer

Carlton Fields publications should not be construed as legal advice on any specific facts or circumstances. The contents are intended for general information and educational purposes only, and should not be relied on as if it were advice about a particular fact situation. The distribution of this publication is not intended to create, and receipt of it does not constitute, an attorney-client relationship with Carlton Fields. This publication may not be quoted or referred to in any other publication or proceeding without the prior written consent of the firm, to be given or withheld at our discretion. To request reprint permission for any of our publications, please contact us. The views set forth herein are the personal views of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the firm. This site may contain hypertext links to information created and maintained by other entities. Carlton Fields does not control or guarantee the accuracy or completeness of this outside information, nor is the inclusion of a link to be intended as an endorsement of those outside sites. This site may be considered attorney advertising in some jurisdictions. Web Design by Espo Digital Marketing